SC Visibility: A Critical Strategy to Optimize Cost and Service

Numerous Aberdeen studies have indicated the importance of supply chain visibility. In this survey of 149 companies with predominantly global supply chains, 63 percent of respondents indicated that Supply Chain Visibility was currently a high priority for improvement, with an additional 28 percent indicating it was a medium priority. Increasing visibility is a critical strategy for enterprises aimed at reducing costs and improving operational performance in the context of their increasingly complex and multi-tiered global supply-demand networks. The importance is only amplified for those with global supply chains and partners.

Key takeaways

Today’s companies address a series of new challenges ranging from supply chain globalization, increased complexity, cross-channel pressures, and more collaboration across the multi-party order-to-delivery cycle. As the number of partners and length of shipments increase so too does the degree of complex, multi-enterprise interactions and the need for seamless integrated visibility and responsiveness across multiple enterprises.

Throughout the order to fulfillment cycles, companies of all types race to close visibility gaps. Leaders do a better job of closing process and technology gaps within the enterprise and across the multi-party, multi-channel supply chain. They are both more efficient and responsive to ebbs and flows in the supply-demand network.

To address these visibility challenges, leaders have significant advantage.